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What's the consensus on kayak racks for short box trucks?
Hey all. Just got my truck and want to take it camping/kayaking. I've looked around at ladder racks of all kinds and want to get a set, but have some questions. I want to see what the general consensus is on how to best haul longer 'yaks on a short box truck. Mine is 13', wife's is 11.5.
All the cheaper ladder racks seem to drop inside the interior lip of the box, which would prevent use of a tonneau cover- right? Ideally, I would be able to use both a soft or hard roll-up (like Bak Revolver) or Bak Flip -type tonneau cover with racks installed. Secure/dry camping equipment, kayaks on top. What racks do people tend to use?
Also, do these short boxes just not have the front bed hook on the rail? I have the rears, protected by caps right now, but no fronts! My first plan was to get a 2x4, use both hook spots with tighten-down anchors to mount the cheap-style ladder rack on the 2x4 and then use a tonneau cover below it. But without front bed hook holes, that won't work. Are they just covered, can I cut them out of the plastic?
Bak revolver x4 and access adarac. the adarac is a pocket mount, so you can use it with the cover. Did cost me about a grand though. I don't have a picture but i either put it upside down, or on a set of rola hule haulers. my kaykay is 13' and probably right around 100lb, even with the 6.5' box i cant pull the the trailer with it in the bed or it will hit the campers cap.
That's a nice setup!! I flip back and forth between deciding on the hard rolling type like that and the soft rolling type for less cost. Since I (thought that I) needed this for a kayak trip the next day, I ran out and got the cheapest one I could find that was in-store. The quality is better than I thought- no crappy welds or mis-alignments, it fit up nicely. However, it sits on the inside lip and wanted me to bolt it to the rail. No F****** way, pal. so I got some J-bolts and bolted down a 2x4 on either side, and mounted it to those.I want to replace the J-bolts with bolts/toggles to help distribute the forces since the bed is aluminum.
Can't use it with a TC the way it is, I'll have to modify it. I may get some unistrut and replace the 2x4's. It would be worth it to just weld the rack to the strut. But at the end I'll probably be as much in that as I would be to just get the adarac system.
I have the same setup as Red Candy. Even the same colour truck. If you are going to use a tonneau cover that folds up like a backflip this is the rack to use. They do have a cheaper version made out of steel but the ProSeries is lightweight and comes with a couple of attachment accessories.
Bak revolver x4 and access adarac. the adarac is a pocket mount, so you can use it with the cover. Did cost me about a grand though. I don't have a picture but i either put it upside down, or on a set of rola hule haulers. my kaykay is 13' and probably right around 100lb, even with the 6.5' box i cant pull the the trailer with it in the bed or it will hit the campers cap.
How much fun is it loading your yak up onto the bars? I have a NuCanoe Frontier that is also about 100#. So far I just slide it into the bed but thats it. Everything else has to go into the truck. Ive been looking at solutions like a ladder rack but I like the idea of an adjustable height deal that I can attach a roof top tent and keep it below the roof line-just so I can get it into my garage.
How much fun is it loading your yak up onto the bars? I have a NuCanoe Frontier that is also about 100#. So far I just slide it into the bed but thats it. Everything else has to go into the truck. Ive been looking at solutions like a ladder rack but I like the idea of an adjustable height deal that I can attach a roof top tent and keep it below the roof line-just so I can get it into my garage.
Oh it sucks just as much as you would imagine, its a two person job, if you have a rope and a step ladder you might be able to do it by yourself. It's the only option if i want to take it with us camping though. Any other time its just in the bed hanging off the tailgate a few feet.
Oh it sucks just as much as you would imagine, its a two person job, if you have a rope and a step ladder you might be able to do it by yourself. It's the only option if i want to take it with us camping though. Any other time its just in the bed hanging off the tailgate a few feet.
And since Fishing from a kayak is about as much fun as you can have fishing it goes with you. I try to take mine wherever I go just so I can fish new water from time to time.
And since Fishing from a kayak is about as much fun as you can have fishing it goes with you. I try to take mine wherever I go just so I can fish new water from time to time.
Me too, I like hitting lake Huron. Not very good for fishing because you have to go a few miles out to get deep water off the thumb but still a lot of fun. One of the requirements for camping is that they have kayak-able water close by or in park, even better if the fishing is good. That's why I love our state parks, i can bring my kayak without being hassled like private parks do.
07-20-2018, 08:04 AM
What's the consensus on kayak racks for short box trucks?
